The College STAR Faculty Learning Community: Promoting Learning for All Students through Faculty Collaboration

• Published in: The journal of faculty development 2015-01, Vol.29 (1), p.25-32
• Main Authors: Hutson, Bryant, Downs, Holly
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to Education; Access to information; Collaboration; College campuses; College Faculty; College Instruction; College students; Colleges & universities; Communities of Practice; Curriculum Design; Educational technology; Faculty Development; Formative Evaluation; Instructional design; Learner Engagement; Learning; Pedagogy; Summative Evaluation; Teacher Collaboration; Teaching; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 2153-1900; 2153-1919

This study describes the impact of the College Supporting Transition, Access and Retention (College STAR) project at a public university in the southeastern United States, which sought to develop faculty knowledge, skills and competencies to better meet the needs of diverse student populations, especially those with learning differences. A focus of the program was to establish a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) around implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Alternating between content-based workshops and working sessions, participants collaborated to redesign their courses around the principles of UDL. The FLC's emphasis on shared learning and collaboration helped faculty feel supported and empowered to implement changes in their teaching and to introduce discussion about UDL into their home departments. Using multiple measures, including the assessment of faculty's pre- and post-participation levels of the knowledge and use of UDL principles and artifact analysis, the evaluation evidenced the positive impact of the FLC on those participating faculty.